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sure! don't get me wrong, i agree with you absolutely on most of those points, just not the Mars thing. what Musk is doing with solar, batteries and such is gr

by rapnie 9y ago

sure! don't get me wrong, i agree with you absolutely on most of those points, just not the Mars thing. what Musk is doing with solar, batteries and such is groundbreaking!! i really commend him for that and indeed he _gets things done_ so he is not getting all his priorities wrong, just the one, imho. also on space exploration SpaceX is a fantastic initiative.. bringing the costs down so much. but there is lots of space exploration to do that doesn't involve Mars and is more useful (again imho) in a 100 years will we knock ourselves proudly on the chest for going to Mars and recreating earth in her image :)

TeMPOraL 9y ago
Ok, fair enough :). I assumed you're dismissing Musk's efforts wholesale, on the basis of 'there being more important problems down here' - which is a position I frequently see people taking. I admit I'm not a strong believer in suitability of Mars per se right now either, but I appreciate how cool it sounds and how it drives the imagination. Personally, I believe the time is ripe for building an industry in near-Earth space (or cislunar space, as it seems to be fashionable to call it these days). Mining asteroids and orbital manufacturing - it fits well with all the dreams of Moon bases and Mars colonies, and right now we have companies pushing simultaneously on every area required to bootstrap it (including SpaceX which is doing a great job lowering launch costs). I think SpaceX gets it too, given the recent Shotwell's comments[0][1]. -- [0] - "Expect we’ll do BFR/BFS missions to the Moon before Mars, given administration’s interest. Hope it will be for a permanent settlement." - https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/931089584640884737 https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/931089584640884737 and also https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/7dbaqw/shotwell_expect_well_do_bfrbfs_missions_to_the/ https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/7dbaqw/shotwell_exp... for more context. [1] - "We've got our eyes on Mars. It's kind of a fixer upper planet. But we will participate in the lunar program." - https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace/status/951539911966052353 https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace/status/951539911966052353
- rapnie 9y ago
  > Personally, I believe the time is ripe for building an industry in near-Earth space (or cislunar space, as it seems to be fashionable to call it these days). Mining asteroids and orbital manufacturing yes!! i am all for that, and equally inspiring if you ask me :)

by rapnie 9y ago

TeMPOraL 9y ago

Ok, fair enough :). I assumed you're dismissing Musk's efforts wholesale, on the basis of 'there being more important problems down here' - which is a position I frequently see people taking. I admit I'm not a strong believer in suitability of Mars per se right now either, but I appreciate how cool it sounds and how it drives the imagination. Personally, I believe the time is ripe for building an industry in near-Earth space (or cislunar space, as it seems to be fashionable to call it these days). Mining asteroids and orbital manufacturing - it fits well with all the dreams of Moon bases and Mars colonies, and right now we have companies pushing simultaneously on every area required to bootstrap it (including SpaceX which is doing a great job lowering launch costs). I think SpaceX gets it too, given the recent Shotwell's comments[0][1]. -- [0] - "Expect we’ll do BFR/BFS missions to the Moon before Mars, given administration’s interest. Hope it will be for a permanent settlement." - https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/931089584640884737 https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/931089584640884737 and also https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/7dbaqw/shotwell_expect_well_do_bfrbfs_missions_to_the/ https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/7dbaqw/shotwell_exp... for more context. [1] - "We've got our eyes on Mars. It's kind of a fixer upper planet. But we will participate in the lunar program." - https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace/status/951539911966052353 https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace/status/951539911966052353

rapnie 9y ago
> Personally, I believe the time is ripe for building an industry in near-Earth space (or cislunar space, as it seems to be fashionable to call it these days). Mining asteroids and orbital manufacturing yes!! i am all for that, and equally inspiring if you ask me :)